iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 11/10/2026

How to Finish that Novel When You'd Rather Nap -- guest post by Jesse Weiner yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

White text on black background: "When fatigue is chronic . . .I make myself write for at least fifteen minutes. If I haven’t hit a flow by then, I give myself permission to stop—and without any guilt or self-recrimination." Jesse Weiner.
Followed by "Big dreams start small" and my website, YvonneVentresca.com

Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 06/08/2026

The Power of Pushing Through: 5 Tips for Boosting Creativity -- a guest by @lizalterman.bsky.social on this month's blog yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #creativeproductivity #productivityforcreatives

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 10/03/2026

Book Deal Announcement! So grateful to @poisonedpen.bsky.social and #LizaRoyceAssociates for getting my thriller, IF YOU’RE READING THIS, I’M GONE, into readers’ hands -- coming spring 2027!

Book deal announcement for Yvonne Ventresca's thriller IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I'M GONE, coming spring 2027 from Poisoned Pen Press.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 04/03/2026

On my productivity flop: yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #writingcommunity

Red clock against snowy backdrop. red text: "Writers make time for writing. And everyone does it her own way. Your job is to find your way." ~Sage Cohen, The Productive Writer

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 09/02/2026

It's time to write.... yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #firstdrafts #amwritingthrillers

My time clocking experiment, because "You may delay, but time will not." ~Ben Franklin. Shown over a light blue background with the top of a blur clock.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 11/01/2026

On my blog: Have a creativly productive New Year, with 3 tips and some of the best resources from 2025. “The beginning is always today.” ~Mary Shelley yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

Gold stars on black background with quote: “The beginning is always today” from Mary Shelley, Happy New Year!, YvonneVentresca.com

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 09/12/2025

On my blog: yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

Two kids walking down dirt road, shown from the back, with the taller one draping her arm over the other. Text: “Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
—L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 02/10/2025

On my blog: Writing resources, an upcoming @highlightsfound.bsky.social retreat, and the IWSG blog hop

Black and white photo of writer drinking coffee and typing. Orange text quotes Ben Zobrist: "At the end of the day, you can't control the results; you can only control your effort level and your focus.”

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 03/09/2025

Productivity vs Efficiency: Spending Time on What Matters yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #amrevising #productivityforcreatives #writingcommunity

Clock next to white text on red background: "The real breakthrough isn’t finding more hours in a day, it’s making sure your hours are spent on what matters." Todd Henry on Time Anxiety

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 10/08/2025

Newsletters vs blogs? Do you have one? Both? yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #writinglife

Photo of split seed pod, orange-colored, against a muted green background. Text: "Write what disturbs you, what you fear,
what you have not been willing to speak about.
Be willing to be split open.” ~Natalie Goldberg

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 03/07/2025

On my blog: Writing for different ages yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

Quote across sky, with rocks piled to the right side:
“Let your impossible standards crash to the ground.
Then pick a few meaningful tasks from the rubble
and get started on them today.”
~Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 02/04/2025

Yay for the #POKBookFest! Thanks to John Torres, @merrittbookstore.bsky.social, the Poughkeepsie Library, and the many volunteers for organizing a stellar festival.

Yvonne sitting at a table at a book festival.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 26/03/2025

On my blog: Ten tips for beating writer's block yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 26/02/2025

Is February over yet? Luna and I are ready for a new month. #schneaglelove

A very cute black schnauzer-beagle mix looking sad while reclining on a beige couch with burgundy striped and floral pillows

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 25/02/2025

A round-up of last year's best creative-productivity posts on my blog, including guest posts from authors Natalie Zaman, Taryn Haas, Jen Breach, and Paula Chaffee Scardamalia. yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

The encircled numbers 2024 against a goldish-tan background with monochromatic fireworks.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 04/12/2024

Hey writing friends! My latest blog post provides tips for creating cliffhangers. yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... @mysterywriters.bsky.social @sincnational.bsky.social

white text: Six tips for writing compelling cliffhangers
photo of sneakered-feet and dangling over a forest edge, presumably from a cliff

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 21/11/2024

Hi writing friends! I'm giving a free virual workshop Monday night 11/25, Keep the Pages Turning: Maximizing Suspense in Your Novel. (Register in advance. It's through a FL library, but open to everyone -- leave the library card fields blank.) Hope to see you there! attend.ocls.org/event/11564654

Fluttering pages of a book next to the following text:
Keep the Pages Turning: Maximizing Suspense in Your Novel. Free virtual workshop by Yvonne Ventresca sponsored by the Orange County Library System. November 25th. 7 pm.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 03/10/2024

Love these 4 questions Charlie Jane Anders recommends asking about our characters. yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

Face painted in pastel water colors with quote from Charlie Jane Anders: about 4 questions to keep asking your characters: “How do they feel about their situation? What do they do about that feeling? What result does their action have? How do they feel about this new situation?”

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 05/09/2024

How can we make it easier to begin each writing session? yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #WritingCommmunity #creativeproductivity

Prancing adorable reddish and white dog with the caption "If an object in motion stays in motion, how can we make it easier to begin?" YvonneVentresca.com

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 07/08/2024

Productivity and writing -- guest post from Natalie Zaman on my blog today: yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 08/07/2024

Me too. Then I wondered if regular-sized bats were okay?

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 05/06/2024

Using rituals vs routines for writing: a guest blog post by Paula Chaffee Scardamalia yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #writingtips #amwriting #WritingCommmunity #productivityforcreatives #kidlit

A whale diving into blue water so that only the black tail is visible. Quote from Paula Chaffee Scardamalia: To increase your productivity along with creativity, observe your routines and how you might use a routine to your creative advantage, and then design one or two simple rituals to connect you with inspiration and help you dive into the writing waters.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 01/05/2024

There isn't one right way to approach productivity and creativity. Author Jen Breach talks about their long road approach. yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #productivityforcreatives #writingcommunity #kidlit

Quote from author Jen Breach on not setting daily writing goals: "... I am not a rudderless ship, a stringless kite, a spiral-flying balloon with the air thpthpthpthping out of an uncinched neck. I just keep a longer creative view than day to day. Month to month suits me better."
Pictured on a blue sky background with a colorful stringless kite.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 28/04/2024

Always fun to lead writing workshops about my favorite topics -- revision and suspense. Also I talk with my hands a lot and came dangerously close to knocking over the mic. :) . . . #PhillyWW #Writingcommunity

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 05/04/2024

Blogging vs newsletters -- how do you separate content? yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... . . #thewritingcommunity #kidlit #productivityforcreatives

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 22/03/2024

Tomorrow's the Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference! I haven't been here since pre-COVID. I'm excited to be back and to be presenting a workshop about Deep POV. www.libertystatesfictionwriters.com #writingcommunity #writingconference

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 20/03/2024

#RebeccaDykesWriters acts as a resource for those writing stories about violence against women and girls for young readers. Read the latest newsletter here: mailchi.mp/6be556bfe289... #kidlit #writingcommunity

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 13/03/2024

A reader, a teacher, and a writer walk into the library's used book sale.... Books! My family buys so many books! #booklovers #kidlit #librarylove

Three happy people behind a library cart filled with bags of books.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 12/03/2024

#YALit Recommendation: And Then There Were Four by Nancy Werlin. I like how the use of second-person POV for Caleb shows his disconnection from himself. 📚👍 #kidlit #readingrec #writingcommunity

Paperback book cover of the young adult novel And Then There Were Four by author Nancy Werlin, shown on a black velvet background with four red candles that match the cover. Slightly crooked photo by Yvonne Ventresca.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 11/03/2024

Picture Book Recommendation: What If You Wish by author/illustrator @anneappert.bsky.social. Whimsical illustrations accompany a child's journey of wonder and curiosity. 📚👍 #kidlit #njscbwi #writingcommunity

Book cover of What If You Wish by author/illustrator Anne Appert shows a child kneeling and blowing on a dandelion-looking flower, which turns into a yellow bird. Photograph of the book with a yellow bird and a daffodil by Yvonne Ventresca.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 06/03/2024

Waiting doesn't have to be the hardest part (to track). #productivitytips for writers: how to use a "waiting for" list yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #productivityforcreatives #kidlit #writingcommunity

Photo of a child looking longingly out a raindrop-splattered window, with a quote from Yvonne Ventresca's blog about using a "waiting for" list

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 05/03/2024

ICYMI, Taryn Haas from @thestorywilds.bsky.social guest-posted on my blog about compassionate planning for writing #productivity. yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f... #productivityforcreatives #kidlit #writingcommunity

Quote from guest post by Taryn Haas. "I don't use checklists for writing projects anymore. Why? Because one task is not equivalent to another in time and emotional drain."

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 03/03/2024

I'm a NJ #kidlit author of YA novels Pandemic (written pre-COVID, Crystal Kite Winner) & Black Flowers, White Lies (winner, Gold IPPY), plus MG short stories. Educator guides, book info yvonneventresca.com Writing resources: yvonneventresca.com/resources-fo... #Edusky #Skybrarians #SchoolVisits

Photo of author Yvonne Ventresca, happily sitting behind a table of books outside at Collingswood Book Festival

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 08/01/2024

Bookbub, Bluesky, and words from Dolly on my blog yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 22/12/2023

Luna the #schneagle is ready for Christmas and wishes everyone a Happy 2024!

Luna the most adorable schneagle (schnauzer-beagle mix) in a red sweater, perched on a chair in front of a Christmas tree

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 22/12/2023

For my grammar-loving friends -- have you read A Dash of Style? It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read about punctuation and how it can change the written expression. The essay about commas was my favorite. :)

Book cover of A Dash of Style by Noah Lukeman. Depicts a hand dropping punctuation marks onto opened fanned pages of a book.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 21/12/2023

Book rec: This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews. MG graphic novel. Magical adventure with friendship at its heart. Ben & his friends ignore Nathaniel when he wants to join their quest. Then the others drop out until only Nathaniel honors the pact with Ben to follow lanterns to the river’s end. #mglit👍🏼📚

Book cover for THIS WAS OUR PACT. Kids riding bikes on a road at night next to a river with floating lanterns. One boy is looking back over his shoulder. Cover is predominantly blue with a star-filled sky.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 18/12/2023

Tap. Tap. Is this thing on? Testing a post from @deck.blue. Here's Luna the #schneagle as a puppy (she's 12 now) to brighten your Monday.

Luna the schneagle as a puppy. Adorable small black dog, schnauzer-beagle mix, sitting in the grass.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 08/12/2023

Simple productivity tip for creative people yvonneventresca.com/productivy-f...

Water colored head with colored mist above it. Quote "Your mind if for having ideas, not holding them" from David Allen.

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Yvonne Ventresca @yvonneventresca.com · 22/11/2023

The productivity workshop I've dreamed of teaching is happening! Registration's now open to #SCBWI members for Improve Your Writing Process: Productivity for Creative People. Online workshop, Wed, Nov 29th, 7-9 pm EST, recording available for 30 days after. www.scbwi.org/events/impro....